Posted by C, R. Mudgeon
a resident of Danville
on Sep 10, 2013 at 10:46 am

Nice (and slick) move by the peninsula folks (their local governments, and their representatives in the state legislature), at least for them....

This way, when the high-speed rail project project flounders, they will still get their desired Cal-Train improvements, using (in large part) "other people's money". It's the only way to fly (er, take the train)...

Even if the high-speed rail system is ever "completed", the fact that it will be sharing tracks with Cal-Train on the peninsula will inevitably make it slower. Even if periodic sidings are put in for the high-speed trains to pass the regular Cal-Trains, they will not be able to operate at anything approaching full speed until they get past San Jose.

(I once took the high-speed French train from Amsterdam to Paris, and the same thing applies there. It operates at regular train speed all the way to Brussels, and only speeds up for part of the journey. Due to both shared tracks, as well as inadequate crossing gates.)

Given how much the project has been watered down already (in spite of, and also because of, greatly escalating cost projections), it is interesting to speculate on what further "dilutions" to expect. Especially now that other communities in the path of the train have been shown that they can get the plans modified in their favor, if they play the politics right....

Posted by PSMacintosh
a resident of Danville
on Sep 13, 2013 at 9:52 am

I was at a café and found a purse under the table that was loaded with someone else's money.
I took the money and used it for the good cause of buying desired essentials for my family.
That money was certainly destined for someone else's usage, but a similar usage to mine.
So it was good that I didn't let that money go to waste and put it to a good and similar use.
Oh, what a good politician am I!
Ethics 101 = Failed!

Posted by PSMacintosh
a resident of Danville
on Sep 17, 2013 at 8:37 am

Huh?,

I get it!
You are a good friend of liberal politicians!
You like big government power and spending!
You like how the government has garnished millions of dollars of taxpayer money with this Train con and now "shifted" that money to its other desires.

I get it--YOU are part of the problem.
You're a great arguer and political propogandast!
My guess is that you receive/received some payment from the political pie. (Care to disclose that?)

Stick in your thumb.....and pull out a plumb....saying, "Oh, what a good politician am I!"

Maybe I was wrong about "puerile," PSM. I don't think your "arguments" rise to that level.

I suppose I should accuse you of working for Chevron, GM, Southwest or other corporations which would benefit from killing off the only viable competition, but I don't think that ad hominem is really needed here. The grownups in the room are dealing with real world issues. And the future of transportation in California is a very real issue that the grownups need to address.

Name-calling is fine for the playground, PSM, but it won't save a gallon of fuel or transport a consultant to a meeting in LA, now or in the future. I'm one of those private sector guys who has had to make that trip, and more importantly, I'm a father whose kids are now grown and are now themselves "those guys," too. Our parents paid taxes to build the interstate highways, bridges, BART and the airports we use today. I'm okay with paying it forward by building some infrastructure that my kids and grandkids will be able to use.

I do understand that many of my generation take an "I've got mine" approach to taxes and infrastructure investment. I'm just not one of those people. It may be hard for you to comprehend, PSM, but not everybody takes positions based solely on their impact on their personal net worth.